How Johnny Depp Secured Paul McCartney For A ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Cameo
Johnny Depp saved the day when Keith Richards could not arrange his schedule to play Jack Sparrow’s father in Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Richards simply could not make it to Australia in the correct time frame for filming.
Johnny Depp’s character’s dad portrayed by Keith Richards appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. In Richard’s absence, Johnny Depp and directors Jochim Ronning and Espen Sandberg decided they wanted none other than Sir Paul McCartney to portray another of Jack Sparrow’s relatives in Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
Ronning and Sandberg told Johnny Depp they wanted to talk to Paul McCartney about the now open Pirates of the Caribbean role, but had no idea how to reach Sir McCartney. Johnny had Sir Paul’s personal cell number, so Johnny just, rather casually, sent McCartney a text, which was quickly answered.
Johnny Depp was apparently accustomed to speaking with Paul McCartney, which amazed Depp’s directors. Espen Sandberg told Entertainment Weekly, Johnny Depp and Sir McCartney were exchanging friendly texts, and it was Depp who persuaded Sir Paul to do the cameo for Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
“Johnny, of course, has his phone number, as you do. I don’t know what kind of club these people are a member of, but he had the phone number, so he said, ‘You know, I’ll text him! No problem.’ So he did! He just texted Sir Paul, and Sir Paul texted back. And it went a little back and forth, and their lingo got more and more pirate-y, and it was like, well, this is going to happen!”
Johnny Depp is a well respected professional guitarist as well as an actor. Depp plays in the supergroup band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, when he isn’t being Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Johnny Depp travels in the same circles as McCartney and has played music with Sir McCartney before, as explained in this article from the Inquisitr.
Paul McCartney portrays Jack Sparrow’s uncle, Jack, in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales. That’s right Jack Sparrow’s dad is Keith Richards and the uncle Captian Jack Sparrow was named after is Sir Paul McCartney. What a family Johnny Depp has. Espen Sandberg quipped to Entertainment Weekly that he wanted to attend the Sparrow family reunion.
“It’s a pretty awesome family tree,” Sandberg says. “I’d love to be at that family reunion. That must be a fun party.”
Once Johnny Depp persuaded Sir Paul McCartney to do a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean, which apparently wasn’t that hard, the directors wanted more. In a delightful onscreen performance, Paul McCartney actually sings. Jochim Ronning recounts recording Sir Paul’s song.
“Nobody else is working on the set, so on the soundstage, it’s completely quiet, and we’re only rolling sound. So I’m sitting there behind the monitors, listening in with earphones and basically recording Paul McCartney. That was a big, big moment.”
If Johnny Depp’s ease with his beyond A-list friends amazed directors Ronning and Sandberg, recording Paul McCartney seems to have completely awed Ronning. What a special career highlight moment it must have been.
RELATED REPORTS FROM THE INQUISITR
Paul McCartney Posts First Photo Of His ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Character
Why Johnny Depp, Paul McCartney And Leonardo DiCaprio Can Not Be Cloned
Johnny Depp’s ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Co-Stars Spill About Working With Jack Sparrow [Opinion]
With Johnny Depp and Paul McCartney, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 is predicted to overwhelm the box office for Memorial Day Weekend. Rolling Stone is predicting a gross of about $80 million for this weekend alone.
Johnny Depp and Paul McCartney will appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, coming to theaters this weekend.
[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian and Mike Coppola/Getty Images]
